In a letter to
State Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznev, President Vladimir
Putin suggested that the parliament give priority to adopting
laws on defense and national security, Interfax reported on
11 May. Putin added that he shares the views of deputies that
law-making must reflect the "main trends" of Russian
development while he is in office. PG

DAILY DESCRIBES REFORM PACKAGE

"Segodnya" on 11 May
published what it said are the main points of the reform
package being prepared for President Putin, The 10-year plan
calls for stabilizing the banking system, increasing judicial
independence, and expanding competition in the gas sector,
the Moscow newspaper reported. The plan gives immediate
priority to passing a new tax code and a balanced budget in
2001 as well as improving supervision of banks. It also
suggests cutting government red tape to make it easier for
people to start new businesses. PG

KUDRIN SAYS BALANCED 2001 BUDGET BEING PREPARED

First Deputy
Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin told Interfax on 11 May that
his ministry is preparing a balanced budget for next year.
There was a federal budget surplus of 0.6 percent of GDP in
the first quarter of 2000, he said, adding that "we plan to
maintain a no-deficit level to the end of the year." He said
that certain taxes may soon be combined into a single social
welfare tax to simplify collection and distribution. And he
concluded that as a result of recent progress, "Russia has
learned to live according to its means." PG

FSB LASHES OUT AT CRITICISM OF MEDIA-MOST RAID

In an
interview with ITAR-TASS on 11 May, Aleksandr Zdanovich of
the Federal Security Service denounced the criticism directed
against his agency over the raid on the Media-Most offices.
He said that suggestions that the case was "political" and
represented an attempt "to put pressure on the mass media"
have "nothing to do with what is really taking place."
Zdanovich insisted that the investigation concerns violations
of tax laws. Meanwhile, law enforcement officers told
Interfax that they discovered unauthorized eavesdropping
equipment in the Media-Most offices (see also "End Note"). PG

ZYUGANOV CONFIDENT OF KASYANOV'S CONFIRMATION

Communist
Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov told Ekho Moskvy on 11 May
that he is confident the Duma will approve Mikhail Kasyanov
as prime minister on 17 May, ITAR-TASS reported. Kasyanov,
Zyuganov added, "has experience and combines precise and
intelligent predictions with a real estimate of the
situation." He said that the communist faction will make a
decision on whether to support Kasyanov's candidacy after
meeting with him on 17 May. PG

INGUSH PRESIDENT SLAMS RUSSIAN MILITARY...

Ruslan Aushev said
on 12 May that the Russian military was to blame for the
previous day's attack on a Russian convoy in Ingushetia,
Reuters and ITAR-TASS reported. The death toll in that attack
has now risen to 18 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 May 2000).
Aushev told NTV that the Russian military should have sealed
off the conflict zone to preclude the possibility of Chechen
fighters infiltrating Ingushetia. He called for an
investigation to determine why the Russian military
leadership is "carrying out their duty so badly." On 11 May,
the commander of the joint Russian forces in the Caucasus,
Colonel General Gennadii Troshev, had said the ambush proves
that Chechen fighters are crossing into Ingushetia under the
guise of fugitives, Interfax reported. He said the Interior
Ministries of the federation subjects bordering on Chechnya
should check more carefully the identity of all persons
arriving from Chechnya. LF

...SAYS MASKHADOV READY FOR TALKS WITH KRASHENINNIKOV

On 11
May, Aushev said that Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov is
ready for talks with the head of the recently created Russian
public commission for Chechnya, Interfax reported. That
commission is headed by Duma Legislation Committee chairman
and former Russian Justice Minister Pavel Krasheninnikov, who
met on 9-10 May in Ingushetia with former Chechen Interior
Minister Kazbek Makhashev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 May
2000). Aushev praised the creation of Krasheninnikov's
commission, adding that despite its status as a public body,
it may contribute to resolving the conflict, especially as
President Putin supported its creation. He suggested that
Putin should met with Krasheninnikov in order to gain "an
all-round unbiased picture of what is actually happening in
Chechnya." LF

PUTIN SUSPENDS INGUSHETIAN ACTIONS...

President Putin on 11
May ordered the suspension of a decree issued by the
President Aushev and a resolution of the Ingush government,
saying that those actions are at variance with federal
legislation, ITAR-TASS reported. Aushev had ordered that
money be deducted from tax payments to Moscow to cover
central debts to the republic, and the republican government
had prohibited the republic's migration service from issuing
work permits to employees from abroad. Both actions, Putin's
decree said, violated the Russian Constitution and Russian
laws. PG

...TELLS BASHKIRS TO OBEY CONSTITUTION

The same day,
President Putin sent a letter to the speaker of the
Bashkortostan parliament urging him to bring the republic's
constitution into line with the federation's constitution and
legislation, ITAR-TASS reported on 11 May. Putin said that
the republic's basic law contains several articles "running
counter to the foundations of federal arrangements, including
principles of the spread of the Russian Federation's state
sovereignty to its entire territory." Such provisions, Putin
said, overstep "the limits of joint jurisdiction." PG

PUTIN TO ATTEND UNITY MOVEMENT CONGRESS

President Vladimir
Putin will attend the 27 May congress of the Unity faction of
the State Duma, Unity leader Boris Gryzlov told ITAR-TASS on
11 May. (Also on 11 May, Putin received the leaders of
several other parliamentary factions and groups.) That
congress, which will take place in the Kremlin, is slated to
transform Unity "into a political party." Meanwhile, in an
interview published in the 11 May "Parlamentskaya gazeta,"
Gryzlov said that Unity "will become a conservative party
with a somewhat liberal bent." He predicted the party will
attract 100,000 applications for membership by the end of May
and said that Unity will field candidates in all upcoming
gubernatorial and local legislative elections. PG

VLADIVOSTOK CAMPAIGN INCREASINGLY CRIMINAL'

Interfax
reported on 11 May that the election campaign in Vladivostok
is "becoming increasingly criminal." The news agency drew
that conclusion following the murder of a campaign staffer
for State Duma Deputy Viktor Cherepkov, who plans to run for
mayor in that Far Eastern city. PG

TUVAN GREAT KHURAL MEETS IN KYZYL

The Great Khural of Tuva
opened in Kyzyl on 11 May, ITAR-TASS reported. The Great
Khural--not to be confused with the Tuva parliament, which
bears the name Supreme Khural--is charged with adopting
amendments to the constitution. At its earlier sessions
between 1995 and 1997, the Great Khural adopted 63 such
amendments. Also in Kyzyl, an Adenauer Fund-sponsored seminar
on "Parties and Democracy" opened, the Russian news agency
said. PG

NORILSK NICKEL SUSPENDS EXPORTS

Because of bad weather,
Norilsk Nickel plans to suspend exports and domestic
deliveries of its products for up to two months, Interfax
reported on 11 May. Norilsk Nickel is the world's largest
producer of nickel, cobalt and platinum; it also produces
copper and gold. PG

PUTIN TO REDUCE PRESIDENTIAL STAFF

According to a report in
the 11 May "Moskovskii komsomolets," there are plans to
reduce the size of the presidential administration by 10
percent. In 1996, 2,200 people worked in the administration.
That number was cut to 1,800 but has grown again to 2,000. PG

PUTIN MEETS TED TURNER

President Putin on 11 May met with
visiting U.S. media head Ted Turner, Interfax reported. The
two men reportedly recalled their joint work in organizing
the 1994 Good Will Games in St. Petersburg. They also
discussed Chechnya and arms control. PG

IVANOV SAYS RUSSIA HAS NOTHING TO HIDE' ON CHECHNYA...

Writing in the 11 May "Financial Times," acting Russian
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov argues that Russia "has nothing
to hide" concerning its activities in Chechnya. And he again
called on Western European countries to support Moscow
against what he called terrorism backed by Islamic
extremists. He added that continuing Western commentary on
Chechnya has caused "many Russians" to wonder whether the
West is really seeking to help the Chechen people or "take
advantage of the problem to bring political pressure to bear
on Russia." PG

...SAYS AGREEMENTS PREPARED FOR CLINTON-PUTIN SUMMIT

Acting
Foreign Minister Ivanov told ITAR-TASS in Strasbourg on 11
May that the summit between the Russian and U.S. presidents
will not be limited to getting acquainted. He said that "a
solid package of agreements" has already been prepared on
issues concerning strategic stability, START-II, and the
Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. Ivanov added that the upcoming
G-8 summit in Okinawa "can determine our cooperation in the
21st century, and we will participate in this summit under
the full program." PG

AUDIT CHAMBER TO EXPAND TIES TO POLICE AGENCIES

Sergei
Stepashin, the head of the Audit Chamber, told ITAR-TASS on
11 May that his body is setting up a department for
cooperation with law enforcement agencies. He pointed out
that in the five years of its existence, the Audit Chamber
has carried out 3,500 inspections and submitted 600 of its
findings to law enforcement agencies. But Stepashin suggested
that the chamber needed to cooperate more closely with the
police authorities in the future. PG

MORE WEAPONS FOUND IN STAVROPOL

The Stavropol regional
department for the struggle against organized crime told
ITAR-TASS on 11 May that its officers have confiscated 42
kilograms of explosives and other weapons from an organized
gang involved in the illegal sale of weapons. One of the gang
members, the news service said, worked in the country's
"power structures." PG

SELF-RELIANCE SEMINAR HELD IN YEKATERINBURG

Sverdlovsk
regional Governor Eduard Rossel opened the fifth Russian
Economic Forum on 11 May, ITAR-TASS reported. He set the tone
for the meeting by announcing that "everyone has come to
realize that the development of Russia should not depend on
foreign technologies, investments, or credits" but on
Russia's own resources. President Putin sent a message saying
that he is "confident the forum will suggest new solutions
that will promote an increase in Russia's economic potential
and ensure a decent life for the citizens of our country." PG

RUSSIAN DEGREES NOW ACCEPTED IN WEST

Education Minister
Vladimir Filippov told ITAR-TASS on 11 May that Russian
educational certificates are now accepted in the West. That
is because the Duma recently ratified the 1997 Lisbon
Convention on recognizing higher educational qualifications
in the European region. PG

HUMORIST WRITING YELTSIN MEMOIRS

Andrei Vavra, a speech
writer and former "Krokodil" satirist, is helping former
President Boris Yeltsin prepare his latest volume of memoirs,
which has the provisional title "Midnight Diaries," "Novosti"
reported on 10 May. PG

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, REPUBLICAN PARTY AGREE ON CANDIDATE FOR
PREMIER?

Robert Kocharian has endorsed the candidacy of
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) chairman Andranik Markarian
as prime minister, but the People's Party of Armenia, its
partner in the majority Miasnutiun parliament bloc, has not
yet done so, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 11 May,
quoting an unnamed senior parliament official. Sources in the
presidential administration declined either to confirm or
deny that report. LF

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT FACTION TO FORM POLITICAL PARTY

The 22
members of the second-largest parliamentary faction,
Kayunutiun (Stability), intend to form an eponymous political
party, faction leader Vartan Ayvazian told journalists on 11
May. He said that move will simply formalize the existing
situation, as "we already operate like a party." Most
Kayunutiun deputies are independents elected in single-
mandate constituencies. The party will have a "social-
democratic" orientation and will lobby for strengthening the
regulatory role of the state in the country's economy,
RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Alluding to rumors that
Kayunutiun may turn its back on its previous informal
alignment with the majority Miasnutiun faction and pledge its
open support for President Kocharian, Ayvazian said that "a
new majority" may soon emerge within the parliament. LF

FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY ELECTS 'TEMPORARY' LEADER

The
board of the Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh) on 11 May
elected former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzoumanian as its
"temporary" chairman, replacing former Interior Minister Vano
Siradeghian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Siradeghian is
believed to have fled Armenia last month after parliamentary
deputies voted to lift his immunity in order to enable him to
be taken into custody for the duration of his ongoing trial
on charges of commissioning several contract killings (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 6 April 2000). HHSh board member and
former deputy parliamentary speaker Ara Sahakian said in
Yerevan last month that the party has become "a hostage" to
Siradeghian, Groong reported, citing Snark of 17 April.
Arzoumanian said he hopes to cooperate with several smaller
center-right parties that split from the HHSh in the 1990s.
Those parties plan to convene a demonstration in Yerevan on
12 May to protest the present administration's policies. LF

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

Vartan Oskanian told visiting European Parliament
Parliamentary Cooperation Committee chair Ursula Schleicher
in Yerevan on 10 May that Turkey's ongoing economic blockade
of Armenia undermines stability in the South Caucasus, Snark
and Noyan Tapan reported. Oskanian also said that recognition
by Turkey of the Armenian genocide was one of the conditions
laid down in 1987 for that country's admission to the EU.
Noting Turkey's ongoing insistence that the normalization of
relations with Armenia is contingent on a solution to the
Karabakh conflict, Oskanian stressed that "the Karabakh
problem is to be resolved between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
[between] Azerbaijan and the [unrecognized] Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, but Turkey has nothing to do with this." LF

NEW IRANIAN AMBASSADOR ARRIVES IN YEREVAN

After a two-year
interregnum, Mohamed-Farhad Koleini arrived in Yerevan on 11
May to take up the duties of Iranian ambassador, RFE/RL's
Yerevan bureau reported. He told journalists that there are
no political implications to the interval between his
predecessor's departure and his arrival in the Armenian
capital. Koleini predicted that joint energy sector and
transport projects, including the planned gas pipeline from
Iran to Armenia, will give fresh impetus to bilateral
relations. LF

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT PASSES ELECTION LAW AMENDMENTS IN
FIRST READING

By a vote of 90 to seven, deputies approved on
11 May the draft amendments to the election law submitted by
President Heidar Aliev, Turan reported. Most opposition
deputies abstained from the vote. Parliamentary speaker
Murtuz Alesqerov said that no changes will be made to the
numbers of deputies to be elected under the proportional (25)
and majoritarian (100) systems but that other proposed
changes may be taken into account during the second reading
on 12 May. Opposition deputies have criticized the draft
amendments, which they claim render the law even less
democratic than before. LF

GEORGIA'S NEW STATE MINISTER OUTLINES PRIORITIES

Gia
Arsenishvili told parliamentary deputies after they approved
his nomination on 11 May that he considers his primary tasks
to be implementing economic reform, combating the shadow
economy, and resolving social problems, including the payment
of pensions and wage arrears and creating new jobs, Russian
agencies reported. Arsenishvili condemned political intrigues
in the economic sector as "ruinous" for Georgia. Also on 11
May, parliamentary deputies approved President Eduard
Shevardnadze's proposal to amend the structure of the
government, reducing the number of ministries from 21 to 18
(not 22 to 19, as erroneously reported in "RFE/RL Newsline,"
11 May 2000). LF

UN EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER DELAY IN ABKHAZ SETTLEMENT

In a
statement released in New York on 11 May, the UN Security
Council noted that the failure of the Georgian and Abkhaz
leaderships to agree to a solution to the deadlocked
conflict, including the status of Abkhazia vis-a-vis the
central Georgian government, has "an unfavorable effect" on
stability and the economic and humanitarian situation in the
region, Caucasus Press reported. The statement calls on both
sides to "show [the] political will" required to break the
deadlock and to complete work on and sign the draft agreement
on peace and the non-resumption of hostilities and the
protocol on repatriation and measures to restore the Abkhaz
economy. It also calls on both sides to ensure the safety of
members of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia, several of
whom were abducted in October 1999 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14
and 18 October 1999). LF

GEORGIA AGAIN DENIES HOSTING MERCENARIES FOR CHECHNYA

Georgia's National Security Ministry on 11 May rejected as
"absurd and groundless" allegations by Russian First Deputy
Chief of Army General Staff Colonel General Valerii Manilov
that some 1,500 mostly Arab mercenaries are currently in the
Pankisi gorge close to Georgia's border with Chechnya,
Caucasus Press reported. Manilov had claimed that the
mercenaries are waiting for the snow to melt in order to
cross into Chechnya. LF

LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT IN KAZAKHSTAN

Following talks in Astana
on 11 May, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev and his
visiting Lithuanian counterpart, Valdas Adamkus, signed
agreements on technical, scientific, and cultural cooperation
and on joint measures to combat organized crime and drug-
trafficking, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Nazarbaev said
later at a joint press conference that Kazakhstan could
export some 60,000 tons of oil each month to Lithuania only
if it concluded an additional agreement with Russia.
Lithuania had hoped to secure at least 4 million tons. Russia
recently increased Kazakhstan's annual export quota by 3
million tons, but 2 million tons is to be transported via the
new bypass pipeline from Makhachkala to Novorossiisk (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000). Nazarbaev expressed the
hope that Lithuania will agree to transport goods to China
and Southeast Asia via Kazakhstan, according to Interfax.
Trade turnover between the two countries has increased
significantly over the past three years, reaching $95.8
million in 1999. LF

KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES, OPPOSITION AGREE TO HOLD ROUNDTABLE

Representatives of the Kyrgyz leadership, opposition and NGOs
agreed during talks on 10 May to convene a roundtable
discussion in early June, Interfax and RFE/RL's Bishkek
bureau reported the following day. Nine representatives each
from the leadership, the opposition, and NGOs, including
President Askar Akaev, will participate in the discussion,
and all 29 registered Kyrgyz political parties will be
invited to attend. The OSCE will also be represented. The
participants will focus on the outcome of the contentious
February-March parliamentary elections and measures to ensure
the fairness of the upcoming presidential poll. LF

KYRGYZSTAN TO RESETTLE ETHNIC KYRGYZ FROM TAJIKISTAN

Kyrgyzstan has created a special government commission to
deal with the applications of some 1,600 ethnic Kyrgyz
residents of neighboring Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan
Autonomous Oblast to emigrate to Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Bishkek
bureau reported on 11 May, citing the government press
service. The would-be emigres cite the worsening economic
situation in Tajikistan as the reason why they wish to leave
the country. The commission will travel to Kyrgyzstan's Osh
Oblast later this month to identify villages where the
immigrants could be resettled. LF

BELARUSIAN CROPS HIT BY FROST

Belarus's Agricultural
Ministry has announced that severe frosts in early May
destroyed crops over an area of some 200,000 hectares. The
most affected regions include Minsk Oblast (78,000 hectares)
and Grodno Oblast (63,000 hectares), according to Belapan and
RFE/RL's Belarusian Service. The authorities have decided to
repeat sowing by 15 May. Specialists think, however, that the
optimal time for sowing in Belarus has already passed.
Meanwhile, Premier Uladzimir Yarmoshyn told the legislature
on 11 May that Belarus's "main short-term objective" in
agriculture is to end the country's dependence on grain
imports, adding that the government expects to harvest 5.7
million tons of grain this year. Last year, Belarus harvested
less than 4 million tons, falling well short of its target of
6 million tons. JM

The parliament on 11 May voted by 304
to seven with four abstentions to send to the Constitutional
Court two draft bills on how the constitution should reflect
the results of the 16 April referendum, Interfax reported.
The first bill was submitted to the parliament by President
Leonid Kuchma, while the second was sponsored by 152
lawmakers primarily from leftist and centrist caucuses. AP
quoted a parliamentary spokesman as saying that the
lawmakers' bill proposes granting the parliament the right to
appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet members.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court is examining the legality
of resolutions adopted by the parliamentary majority outside
the parliamentary building after the Supreme Council split
into two warring factions in January. JM

...ADOPTS LAW ON AMNESTY, AMENDS BUDGET

The same day the
parliament passed a law stating that amnesty may be offered
to those convicted for "minor crimes," primarily minors,
people with children who are minors or disabled, pregnant
women, the elderly, and war veterans, Interfax reported. The
parliament also amended the 2000 budget to increase revenues
from 32.8 billion hryvni to 33.7 billion hryvni ($6.2
billion). The amendments stipulate that an additional 200
million hryvni be directed to local budgets, 195 million
hryvni will be used to support the agricultural sector, 35
million hryvni for the shutdown of Chornobyl, 80 million
hryvni for restructuring the coal sector, and 195 million
hryvni for subsidies to coal mines. JM

TALLINN STOCK EXCHANGE CELEBRATES FIRST 1,000 DAYS

To
celebrate its first 1,000 days of operation, the Tallinn
Stock Exchange suspended all fees for trading on 12 May, ETA
reported. In addition, most Estonian banks and brokerage
firms registered with the exchange are to open trading
accounts for free to encourage people to own stocks. AB

ESTONIAN AUTHORITIES BAN MEAT FROM HUNGARY

ETA reported on
11 May that the Veterinary and Food Inspectorate service has
banned meat imports from Hungary because the deadly bacteria
Listeria was found at meat-processing plants around Estonia.
The authorities have also tightened controls on meat imported
from Poland and Denmark for the same reason. Listeria
Monotsytogenes can cause infections and meningitis and is
especially dangerous for children, the elderly, and anyone
with low immune levels. AB

LATVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER REJECTS RUSSIA'S DISCRIMINATION
CLAIMS

Latvian Foreign Minister Indulis Berzins, at a
session of the Council of Europe's ministers, rejected claims
by the Russian government that human rights violations are
taking place in Latvia, BNS and LETA reported on 11 May.
Berzins noted that the latest claim by Russia's Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov gave no specific examples of
discrimination, nor did it correspond with the "assessment of
the international community." Berzins said Latvia is "firmly
pursuing" a policy of promoting human rights while continuing
a dialogue with the Council of Europe and the OSCE. AB

LATVIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES NEW PROSECUTOR-GENERAL

By a vote
of 79 to one with 15 abstentions, the Latvian parliament
approved Janis Maizitis as prosecutor-general, LETA reported
on 11 May. Maizitis, 39, is a graduate of the University of
Latvia's law school. He served as an inspector at the
prosecutor's office from 1991 to 1994 and since then has been
the chief prosecutor in the Cesis district. Maizitis replaces
Janis Skratins, who retired from the post on 3 April. He is
the second candidate to be considered for this post. The
candidacy of Ilgars Zigfrids Septeris was rejected by
lawmakers on 30 March. AB

EMBATTLED SODRA FUND MANAGER OFFERS RESIGNATION

Vincas
Kunca, the manager of the state social insurance fund SoDra
has submitted his resignation to Minister of Social Welfare
Irena Degutiene, effective 14 May, ELTA and BNS reported on
11 May. She is expected to accept the resignation. The
government has been worried about the fund's surging deficit
which reached 159 million litas ($39.75 million) at the end
of the first quarter of this fiscal year. Kunca had been
ordered to submit a new plan for the fund's solvency, but
instead he submitted his resignation. He had offered to
resign last September, when he and Degutiene traded
recriminations over who was responsible for the fund's
growing insolvency. AB

POLISH PARLIAMENT APPROVES VETO ON ANTI-PORNOGRAPHY BILL

The parliament on 11 May failed to muster the necessary 254
votes to override the presidential veto on a law banning
the sale and distribution of all pornography in Poland (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March 2000), PAP reported. The veto
was supported by 202 lawmakers, mainly from the opposition
Democratic Left Alliance and the ruling Freedom Union, and
opposed by 214 deputies from the ruling Solidarity
Electoral Action, the opposition Polish Peasant Party, and
right-wing groups. Poland's current legislation permits the
distribution and sale of soft pornography but penalizes
those dealing in hard-core pornography. JM

POLAND'S FORMER PREMIERS URGE JOINT EFFORT TOWARD EU
MEMBERSHIP

Four former premiers--Tadeusz Mazowiecki and
Hanna Suchocka from the Solidarity camp and Jozef Oleksy
and Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz from the left wing--appealed on
11 May to all political forces to join forces in the
country's EU membership bid, PAP reported. Mazowiecki said
the drive for membership in the union should be free of
"political infighting." Cimoszewicz and Oleksy said the
leftist opposition is ready to support the government in
its European integration effort. Cimoszewicz urged the
coalition to allow opposition members to take part in the
accession talks with Brussels in order "to enable smooth
continuation" of those talks after there is a change of
government in the country. Former cabinet heads Jan
Olszewski and Waldemar Pawlak did not show up to sign the
appeal. Former Premier Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, currently
abroad, reportedly agreed to sign it later. JM

DALAI LAMA IN POLAND

The exiled political and spiritual
leader of Tibetans is currently on a four-day visit to Poland
at the invitation of the Helsinki Foundation for Human
Rights. The Dalai Lama on 11 May visited the parliament and
held a private meeting with Premier Jerzy Buzek. He told
lawmakers that he does not regret his decision to seek
autonomy for Tibet while giving up the fight for full
independence, PAP reported. He noted that China's current
policy with regard to Tibet has had "disastrous results."
According to him, Tibetans should be given freedom to
determine religious and educational issues, while defense and
foreign policy remain the prerogative of Beijing. JM

CZECH PRESIDENT VISITS CONCENTRATION CAMP

On the last day of
his visit to Germany, Vaclav Havel visited the former Nazi
concentration camp at Sachsenhausen and unveiled a memorial
to Czech victims of the Third Reich, dpa and CTK reported on
11 May. He said people must neither repeat the mistakes of
the past nor "ignore evil" until it is too late. That is why,
he said, he thinks the EU is "correct" to take a stand
against "the loud-mouth rhetoric of one Austrian," in a
reference to far-right leader Joerg Haider. MS

KLAUS 'PUNCHES' EU ONCE MORE

"The costs involved for EU
candidate countries are being underestimated and the
membership benefits overestimated," Civic Democratic Party
leader Vaclav Klaus told students in Ostrava on 11 May. Klaus
also said he is sure that enlargement will proceed because
"the European bureaucracy wants to rule over a larger area."
He said that what will count when EU enlargement is decided
will be not so much the actual performance of candidate
countries as the political atmosphere prevailing at that
particular moment. If elections are due in some EU countries
at that time, he said, governments may be reluctant to
sacrifice popularity, given that EU enlargement is often
perceived as a threat, CTK reported. MS

NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES SLOVAKIA'S PROGRESS

Lord
Robertson on 11 May said in Bratislava that "Slovakia is a
very serious candidate" for membership in the organization
but stopped short of specifying whether it could join the
alliance in the next enlargement wave, CTK and AP reported.
Robertson urged the Slovaks not to "shy away from taking
tough and painful decisions" on reforming the military. He
also said the latest political disputes in the ruling
coalition are not a sign of instability and are "natural" in
a democracy. Robertson also thanked Slovakia for its
assistance to NATO during last year's airstrikes on
Yugoslavia. MS

HUNGARIAN TELECOMUNICATIONS TO BE OVERSEEN BY PRIME
MINISTER'S OFFICE

Viktor Orban on 11 May announced that
telecommunications will no longer be overseen by Kalman
Katona's Transport, Telecommunications and Water Management
Ministry and will become part of an information technology
development program supervised by the Prime Minister's
Office. Katona told the daily "Magyar Hirlap" that he does
not agree with the move and does not intend to work with the
Prime Minister's Office. He said the conflict is very serious
but added that he does not want to "retire." Orban, for his
part, noted that a new telecommunications ministry might
emerge. MSZ

CROATIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES MINORITY RIGHTS LAW

The
legislature approved a package of government proposals on 11
May to guarantee minority rights according to European
standards. The measures deal with minorities' cultural,
educational, and linguistic rights and restore an earlier law
that guarantees proportional representation in the parliament
to minorities who constitute more than 8 percent of the
population, which in practice means the Serbs. The Serbs made
up 12 percent of the population in 1991, but most fled to
Serbia or Bosnia after the 1995 Croatian army offensives that
recaptured rebel territory. Many Serbs now wish to return or
have already done so. Should they make up 8 percent by the
next census, they could have 19 out of 151 legislative seats,
which is more than some smaller parties in the governing
coalition have, AP reported. "Vecernji list" wrote that the
new legislation is more liberal than that in most European
countries. The government's new budget earmarks just under $3
million for minority affairs, the largest share of which goes
to the Serbs, "Jutarnji list" reported. PM

CROATIAN GOVERNMENT BLOCKS SALE OF NEWSPAPER

The anti-
corruption agency has obtained a court ruling to block the
sale of "Vecernji list" to a major Austrian media company,
"Novi List" reported on 12 May. Deputy Prime Minister Slavko
Linic said that the move is designed to protect foreign
investors while the anti-corruption agency investigates the
previous government's sale of shares in "Vecernji list" to an
offshore company in the Virgin Islands. The sale of the mass-
circulation daily in 1997 is under public scrutiny because of
new evidence suggesting that political corruption was
involved (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 2 May 2000). PM

FORMER SLAVONIAN POLICE CHIEF CHARGED

On 11 May, the
district attorney in Osijek formally charged Dubravko
Jezercic, who is the former police chief in that town, and
his aide with blackmail and fraud in an effort to acquire
property. This is the latest of many cases of corruption
involving officials of the former government that have
emerged since the elections in January and February. PM

CHALLENGES TO MILOSEVIC EVEN IN HOMETOWN?

Pozarevac public
prosecutor Jovo Stanojevic has submitted his resignation,
Radio B-292 reported on 11 May. He did not give a reason. The
broadcast added that five of his deputies have also offered
to quit. Meanwhile, the authorities suspended city judge
Djordje Jankovic for participating in a recent demonstration.
A local human rights lawyer told the radio that these latest
developments indicate that even legal officials in the
"bastion of the regime were fed up with pandering to illegal
demands of the regime made for private interests." Elsewhere,
Otpor activist Momcilo Veljkovic began a hunger strike on 12
May to protest his detention by police. PM

SERBIAN OPPOSITION PLANS MORE RALLIES

Leaders of major
opposition groups agreed in Belgrade on 11 May to hold a
major protest in the capital on 15 May. Democratic Party
leader Vojislav Kostunica said that the rally will be "one in
a series" that will also include a protest in Pozarevac,
Reuters reported. He stressed that holding a rally in
Milosevic's home town is a "matter of honor" after the regime
prevented the opposition from holding a rally in Pozarevac on
9 May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 May 2000). Elsewhere,
Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic denied that
the rally had been blocked. He stressed that the police were
only trying to ensure citizens' safety. "Traffic controls,
identity checks, [and vehicle] ownership checks are frequent
and normal everywhere in the world," he said. PM

OPPOSITION TO UNITE IN OTPOR?

Velimir Ilic, who is mayor of
Cacak and heads the New Serbia party, said in Jagodina on 11
May that all opposition parties should "freeze" their
activities and unite behind the Otpor (Resistance) student
movement, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He stressed
that the regime "will not be able to do anything" against a
movement whose leaders are aged between 15 and 30 years.
Elsewhere, Bogoljub Arsenijevic Maki, who is known as the
Serbian Robin Hood, said that only civil disobedience and not
elections can unseat the regime, "Vesti" reported on 12 May.
Finally, two unidentified assailants beat up Otpor activist
Dejan Veljovic in Belgrade. PM

MOBILE TELEPHONES BANNED IN YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT OFFICES

The
government has banned mobile telephones and pagers in
official buildings, Radio B-292 reported from Belgrade on 11
May. The move is designed to protect official secrets against
"foreign spies and their local agents," the broadcast added.
PM

MONTENEGRO TO 'DEFEND ITSELF'

Justice Minister Dragan Soc
told "Vesti" in Podgorica on 11 May that his government
reserves the right to defend itself. He added that Montenegro
will increase the size of its police force if the government
feels that that is necessary to deal with threats from
Belgrade and its Montenegrin backers. He dismissed charges by
the federal army that the Montenegrin authorities have
trained an elite unit of snipers to liquidate army officers
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 May 2000). Prime Minister Filip
Vujanovic similarly denied the army's charge, RFE/RL's South
Slavic Service reported. PM

KOSOVARS MOURN SLAIN LEADER

Several tens of thousands of
ethnic Albanians attended the funeral of the slain former
commander of the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK), Ekrem Rexha,
in Prizren on 11 May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 May 2000).
Lennart Myhlback, who heads the local UN administration,
stressed that Rexha was a leader who knew what Kosova needed
to build its future. Bernard Kouchner, who is Kosova's UN
administrator, called Rexha "an important ally for all those
working for peace, tolerance and reconstruction" in Kosova,
Reuters reported. PM

WHO KILLED COMMANDER DRINI?

The UCK's former commander Agim
Ceku suggested at the funeral in Prizren on 11 May that
unnamed individuals opposed to Rexha's moderate polices are
responsible for the death of the man better known locally as
Commander Drini. Ceku stressed that "the future of Kosova
cannot be built on murders and an absence of security. Nobody
is going to allow" such lawlessness to continue, "The New
York Times" reported. Several of Rexha's relatives said that
his political opponents had recently threatened his life.
Some 30 police have been assigned to the case. PM

SERBS STONE U.S. PEACEKEEPERS...

Up to 300 Serbs stoned and
jeered at U.S. peacekeepers in two separate incidents near
Viti in southern Kosova on 11 May, AP reported. In one of the
incidents, the peacekeepers were guarding a Serbian Orthodox
Church when the crowd attacked them. PM

...AND MUSLIM WOMEN

A UN spokesman said in Sarajevo on 11
May that an apparently organized group of 150 Bosnian Serbs
stoned four busses carrying Muslim women refugees who had
come to visit their former homes in Bratunac. Police detained
22 of the attackers and expect to make additional arrests,
the spokesman added. PM

MACEDONIA SIGNS TRADE PACT

Macedonian officials initialed a
trade agreement with the four-member European Free Trade
Association in Geneva on 11 May, Reuters reported.
Impoverished Macedonia is keen to promote economic relations
with developed countries. PM

ROMANIAN MONEY-LAUNDERING CHIEF SUSPECT INTERVIEWED ON
TELEVISION...

In an interview with the private Pro-TV, Adrian
Costea said on 11 May that his relation to former President
Ion Iliescu and incumbent President Emil Constantinescu can
be described as "that of counselor" and that his ties with
former Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu were "ties
of friendship." Costea said he can also "assume paternity"
over the setting up of Melescanu's Alliance for Romania
Party, Mediafax reported. Costea's mandate as a presidential
counselor was prolonged after the 1996 elections and only
recently terminated. Melescanu on 11 May said in Oradea that
he is "ready to assume full responsibility" for having issued
a diplomatic passport to Costea, who "was entitled to the
document as a presidential counselor." He also said the
affair "has been triggered by those who now fear losing the
elections." MS

...AFTER FRENCH INVESTIGATORS QUIZ MORE FORMER OFFICIALS

Viorel Hrebenciuc, who was in charge of local government
affairs in Nicolae Vacaroiu's cabinet, and Dan Nicolae
Fruntelata, state secretary in the same cabinet, were
questioned by French investigating judges on 11 May about
their role in the money-laundering affair, RFE/RL's Bucharest
bureau reported. Hrebenciuc said that the contract under
which Costea received large sums of money for the photograph
album on Romania had been "perfectly legal" and that after
the change of government in 1996, the contract was prolonged
by the new cabinet. If that contract was illegal, Hrebenciuc
said, his successor, former government secretary-general
Remus Opris, must also be indicted. Opris responded that the
money to Costea did not come from the state budget but from
the now bankrupt Bancorex Bank, on the orders of the previous
government. He added that he will sue Hrebenciuc. MS

LUCINSCHI DID NOT CONSULT EU EXPERT COMMISSION

The EU Venice
Commission of constitutional experts on 11 May asked
President Petru Lucinschi and parliamentary chairman Dumitru
Diacov to cease debate on changing the constitutional system
until the commission's experts have concluded an examination
of the proposed changes. The commission said that the draft
law sent by Lucinschi to the Constitutional Court (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 9 May 2000) is different from the draft
Lucinschi sent to the expert commission. In sending the draft
to the court, Lucinschi claimed the Venice commission had
given it the green light. Following the appeal, the
parliament on 11 May decided to suspend the debate on
changing the country's constitutional system, Flux and
Infotag reported. MS

BALKAN AIRLINE PILOTS END STRIKE

Pilots of Bulgaria's
national carrier Balkan Airlines on 11 May ended a nine-day
strike after accepting an agreement proposed by the company's
management, AP reported. Bozhidar Danev, head of the
Bulgarian Industrialists' Association, who mediated in the
conflict, did not specify the details of the agreement. On 10
May, Prime Minster Ivan Kostov had cut short a visit to
Finland to deal with the strike, BTA reported. MS

BULGARIAN OPPOSITION MOVES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE

The Bulgarian
Socialist Party (BSP) and the Euroleft on 10 May submitted a
no-confidence vote in Ivan Kostov's cabinet. BSP leader
Georgi Parvanov said "corruption has engulfed the whole state
machine" and is "at the core of all woes of derailing
reforms, poor management of state enterprises, lack of a
social policy...and lack of foreign investment," Reuters
reported. The ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms
did not support the motion, which has little chance of
passage. The motion must be debated within 72 hours of its
submission and the vote must take place within 24 hours of
that debate. MS

REPRESSION BY SELECTIVE PROSECUTION

by Paul Goble

Newly inaugurated Russian President Vladimir Putin
appears to have embarked on a strategy long favored by
authoritarian leaders: the selective prosecution of his
opponents for legal violations.

That chilling conclusion, only four days into Putin's
term, is suggested by the 11 May police raid on a major
Russian media group that has long been critical of Kremlin
policy in general and of Putin's approach to a variety of
issues, in particular.

Early on 11 May, armed tax police searched the
headquarters of the Media-Most Group, headed by Vladimir
Gusinskii. This group controls NTV, the radio station Ekho
Moskvy, the daily "Segodnya," and the weekly magazine
"Itogi." The Federal Security Service (FSB) said that the
raid was intended to find evidence of tax irregularities or
what an FSB spokesman insisted was "a regular financial
offence." Later the same day, FSB officials reported finding
not only the evidence they said they were looking for but
indications of other criminal activity, including the use of
unauthorized eavesdropping devices.

But Gusinskii and his supporters, who have often been
the objects of official attention for their critical coverage
of the government, viewed the police action in a very
different way. Gusinskii himself suggested that "it is
obvious that what is happening is a factor of political
pressure." And another Media-Most leader, Igor Malashenko,
said the action "contradicts the norms of Russia's
constitution and is against freedom of speech."

Because of the nature of the Russian political and
economic system over the last decade, both the FSB and
Gusinskii are right in some sense.

Given confusion over tax policies and the underlying
corruption of Russian society, virtually no firm in that
country has always been able or willing to conduct its
affairs in full compliance with the law. consequently, the
authorities are likely to be able to find evidence justifying
prosecution almost anywhere they choose to look.

But it is precisely because the authorities have the
possibility to pick and choose whom they will prosecute that
Gusinskii and the Media-Most team have the better argument.
They properly point out that they have been singled out from
among all the other potential targets of investigation. And
they plausibly suggest that the government has done so not
out of a concern for law enforcement but rather to build its
power.

Even a cursory examination of the Russian media scene
suggests that Gusinskii's group is no more "illegal" than
that of other media barons, but Media-Most distinguished
itself from other such holdings: it has been very critical of
the Kremlin. The 11 May raid suggests that the Kremlin has
decided to respond to that criticism and to do so in an
ostensibly respectable way by using the provisions of the law
itself rather than brute force to move against freedom of the
press and those who seek to defend it.

Such a strategy has three major advantages for a leader
like Putin, who has made it clear that he wants to ensure his
control. First, it can be used to silence or break those who
oppose his regime, either by drawing them into legal cases or
financially ruining them.

Second, actions of this type intimidate other groups
that might be thinking about opposing him. The latter can see
what the costs of such an approach are and may therefore
decide to remain silent or otherwise go along with the
regime.

And third, because such actions are cloaked in a mantle
of legality, they often escape any criticism from democratic
governments. Such governments can and do say to themselves
that the Russian police are, after all, only enforcing the
law.

But for all three of these reasons, this "legal" threat
to media freedom and to other forms of freedom that rely on
it may be even more insidious than the direct application of
force. Thus, the 11 May raid on Media-Most may prove an even
more significant turning point in Russia's political
development than Putin's inauguration as president four days
earlier.